I said earlier this week that Cliftonville v Linfield is a game that rarely disappoints and both teams played out a seven-goal thriller on Tuesday night in a game streamed live on BBC Sport NI, the Reds came out on top in the end by four goals to three.
It was David Healy’s Linfield side though who led twice in the game with goals from Jordan Stewart and Jamie Mulgrew but they were pegged back by Michael McCrudden and Conor McMenamin. McMenamin added a second to his tally to put Paddy McLaughlin’s side ahead and Ryan Curran made sure of the win in the 90th minute. Kirk Millar did pull a goal back for Linfield late in injury time but it was too late for Healy’s men.
Despite the defeat, other results kept the champions at the top of the table, four points clear of Crusaders but they will no doubt regret missing an opportunity to extend their lead even further. The result also did not change Cliftonville’s position in the table, they remain 6th but are now level on points with Ballymena and just two points off the top four.
Larne’s recent wobble continued on Tuesday night, as it is now three games without a win for Tiernan Lynch’s side and two defeats in that run. It was Coleraine, who have recently replaced Ballymena as the form team in the league, who got the better of the Inver Park side this time, thanks to early goals from Stephen Lowry and James McLaughlin. An Albert Watson goal in the last 20 minutes set up a nervy finish but Oran Kearney’s side held on to move above Ballymena into 4th place. The defeat means Larne drop to 3rd place and while no one at Inver will be too concerned a return to winning ways soon will be crucial.
Carrick’s woes continued on Tuesday night as they suffered their eight defeat of the season, losing 2-0 to Glentoran at The Oval on this occasion. Rangers have won just once all season and whilst they have played fewer games than any other team in the league, games in hand will mean little unless they get some points on the board soon.
In the other game on Tuesday night Portadown and Crusaders played out a 2-2 draw in a game that both sides will perhaps see as a missed opportunity.
Here is the full league table after Tuesday night’s games: –
POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
1 | Linfield | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 38 | 18 | 20 | 31 |
2 | Crusaders | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 27 |
3 | Larne | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 27 |
4 | Coleraine | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 22 |
5 | Ballymena United | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 20 |
6 | Cliftonville | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 20 |
7 | Glentoran | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 17 |
8 | Glenavon | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 13 |
9 | Warrenpoint Town | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 24 | -13 | 12 |
10 | Portadown | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 26 | -13 | 9 |
11 | Dungannon Swifts | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 30 | -22 | 8 |
12 | Carrick Rangers | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 27 | -20 | 4 |
Larne’s first chance to return to winning ways comes tonight when they take on a Glentoran side who are on a decent run of form at the minute and remain hopeful of breaking into the top half. A win tonight would see Mick McDermott’s men move into 6th place, at least until everyone else plays tomorrow. A Larne win would see them move back into 2nd place and a point off top, adding pressure to Linfield, who now have no game tomorrow, and Crusaders, who play Coleraine tomorrow, but a defeat could see them seven points off the summit by tomorrow evening.
My pick for game of the weekend is tomorrow at The Coleraine Showgrounds were the in form Bannsiders welcome 2nd placed Crusaders. Crusaders have been quietly going about their business this season while attention has largely been on Linfield and Larne and have climbed to second in recent weeks. They cannot overtake leaders Linfield tomorrow but will hope to keep the heat on the South Belfast side, who face a Dungannon side in a dire run of form but will face no fear taking on the champions.
Here is the weekend’s full fixture list, all games are tomorrow at 15:00 unless otherwise stated: –
Larne v Glentoran (Friday 29th January at 19:45 – streamed on BBC Sport NI)
Cliftonville v Glenavon
Coleraine v Crusaders
Linfield v Dungannon Swifts (postponed due to a positive Covid-19 case)
Portadown v Dungannon Swifts
Carrick Rangers v Ballymena United (Saturday 30th January at 17:30 – streamed on BBC Sport NI)
Up first with his predictions, this week is Rodney and as usual it is three points for predicting a result correctly and a point for predicting an outcome correctly.
Rodney
Larne 3-1 Glentoran
Cliftonville 2-0 Glenavon
Coleraine 2-2 Crusaders
Portadown 2-1 Warrenpoint Town
Carrick Rangers 1-2 Ballymena United
Richard
Larne 2-0 Glentoran
Cliftonville 1-0 Glenavon
Coleraine 3-1 Crusaders
Portadown 2-2 Warrenpoint Town
Carrick Rangers 0-1 Ballymena United
Darren
Larne 1-1 Glentoran
Cliftonville 2-0 Glenavon
Coleraine 1-1 Crusaders
Portadown 3-3 Warrenpoint Town
Carrick Rangers 0-3 Ballymena United
Cameron
Larne 1-1 Glentoran
Cliftonville 2-1 Glenavon
Coleraine 3-1 Crusaders
Portadown 1-1 Warrenpoint Town
Carrick Rangers 0-2 Ballymena United
Adrian
Larne 3-1 Glentoran
Cliftonville 2-0 Glenavon
Coleraine 1-1 Crusaders
Portadown 2-1 Warrenpoint Town
Carrick Rangers 1-2 Ballymena United